Traditional Versus LED Flashlights

There is hardly anyone that wouldn’t benefit from owning a quality flashlight. These are not just used when you’re out camping in the woods, but are often an essential part of everyday life. If you are walking down a dimly lit road, need to find something in your attic or basement, or want to check a noise on your roof at night, you will reach for a flashlight to assist you. The problem with the traditional, incandescent bulbs is that they aren’t particularly bright, and the batteries don’t last very long. Just as most people own a flashlight, there are few who won’t tell of a time when they really needed extra light, only to discover that the batteries were either dead or were so run-down that the flashlight was less effective than moonlight. Nowadays, with LED flashlights, these problems can be a thing of the past.

Why invest in an LED flashlight?

For a start, LED flashlights are usually much smaller and less bulky than those with incandescent bulbs. It isn’t necessary to use large, hulking batteries, so the size can be so small that it can fit onto your keyring, and still provide much more light than a traditional flashlight. When you compare the strength of flashlights you’re looking at the Lumens that are put out, and an LED flashlight produces significantly more.

The battery life on an LED flashlight is also significantly higher than a traditional one, and the bulb life is so much better that it’s hardly necessary to compare – they’re not in the same league. Constantly replacing bulbs and batteries is not only time-consuming, it’s also costly.

What to look for in a flashlight

Obviously, you would consider the type of batteries the flashlight uses. If you opt for Lithium batteries, which are more expensive, they will give you a significantly greater lifespan. However, with the many years of shelf-life (usually 10 years) you’ll never again have a problem of worrying whether the flashlight will actually switch on when you need it in an emergency. You would need to know exactly what the use of your flashlight would be, as certain batteries are able to generate an extraordinary amount of light. If, for example, you are part of a search and rescue team, you might consider batteries that provide this. The ordinary man in the street wouldn’t have this need.